08-CAP 2015-2025

The Circumpolar Action Plan (CAP) identifies climate change and the associated reductions in the extent and composition of sea ice as the greatest threat to polar bear persistence. Therefore, communicating the impact of climate change on polar bears has been a consistent goal of the Polar Bear Range States and is identified as Objective 2 of the CAP: “Communicate to the public, policy makers and legislators around the world the importance of mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to polar bear conservation”.

During the Polar Bear Range States Meeting of the Parties in March 2020, a decision was made that an ad hoc working group would be established to create a circumpolar communications plan that would address the effects of climate change on polar bears, thereby helping to achieve Objective 2 of the CAP. The ad hoc Climate Change Communications Working Group (CCCWG) was established in fall 2020, and was composed of Range States representatives, as well as external, invited experts (including representatives from the Polar Bear Specialist Group (the PBSG), non-governmental organizations, Indigenous organizations, universities, and other organizations with a strong public reach). The primary goal of the CCCWG was to develop a Climate Change Communications Strategy that would outline key messages and related communication actions and products to help accomplish Objective 2 of the CAP. The Climate Change Communications Strategy was finalized in February 2023, and it contains five key messages that highlight the main concerns related to the impact of climate change on polar bears:

1. GHG emissions cause the biggest threat to polar bears and must be reduced
2. Polar bear habitats and behavior are changing due to climate change
3. The impact of climate change on polar bears is affecting humans living in the Arctic
4. Climate change is interacting with other threats in the Arctic
5. Essential habitat needs to be identified and protected

The CCCWG recognizes that amplifying the voices of arctic Indigenous Peoples, who are directly impacted by a warming arctic, can help highlight this issue. Arctic Indigenous Peoples have direct knowledge of polar bears and climate change through first-hand experience.

The workplan associated with Objective-2 for the period of 2023-2025 was delayed, mainly due to changes of key role personnel at the leading Range State countries.

It is recommended that the PBRS consider examining whether the actions which remain outstanding in the Objective-2 workplan, could be advanced in future work of the PBRS – including updating the already published climate change communications strategy periodically.

8. CIRCUMPOLAR ACTION PLAN

8.3 CAP Objective 3: Ensure the conservation of essential habitat for polar bears

Ruth Milkereit

This presentation reviews CAP Objective 3, which focused on ensuring the conservation of essential habitat for polar bears.

The Circumpolar Action Plan (CAP) identifies climate change and the associated reductions in the extent and composition of sea ice to be the greatest threat to polar bear persistence. Polar bears rely on sea ice habitat as a platform to hunt seals and denning habitat to reproduce. It is likely that climate change will result in a reduction to the quantity, quality, and availability of sea ice and the identification and protection of maternity denning habitats is crucial. A reduction in the quantity and quality of essential (or commonly used) winter, summer, and denning habitat because of climate change is a threat to polar bears.

The presentation reviews how the work completed under CAP Objective resulted in maps identifying essential (or commonly used) winter, summer, and denning polar bear habitat as a first step towards determining and understanding which areas are currently protected, not currently protected and what level(s) or mechanism(s) of protection (e.g. regional, national, international, Indigenous, other) are in place in the areas that are protected.

The presentation highlights the need for continued progress in furthering our understanding the levels of protection associated with global polar bear essential or commonly used habitat.

8. CIRCUMPOLAR ACTION PLAN

SUMMARY

8.4 CAP Objective 4: Ensure that harvest of polar bear subpopulations is managed in a biologically sustainable manner in accordance with sound conservation practices.

This presentation reviews CAP Objective 4, which focused on ensuring harvest of polar bear subpopulations is managed in a biologically sustainable manner in accordance with sound conservation practices.

The presentation highlights how the PBRS successfully advanced five of six interrelated action items: HM-A1, A2 and A3 which were initially combined into a 2022 white paper defining a quantitative assessment of the population (A1), biologically sustainable harvest in terms of conserving polar bear subpopulations for future generations (A2) and demonstrated sustainable harvest management regime (A3) and published as a peer reviewed journal article “International consensus principles for the sustainable harvest of polar bears” in Conservation Biology in March 2025. Importantly, the principles outlined in the paper are not prescriptive, and there is no formal mechanism of enforcement. Furthermore, the principles are based primarily on a Western science approach to wildlife management and do not necessarily reflect all Indigenous-centered ways of defining or achieving sustainability. The PBRS HMA4 Harvest Regime Table Report summarizes a description of the harvest regime for each of the 20 polar bear subpopulations. Finally, HMA6 collated available data from harvested bears and how to analyze that data in a white paper entitled “Uses of harvest information to estimate demographic parameters for polar bears (Ursus maritimus).”

The presentation concludes by reiterating the recommendation that the Range States revisit and reevaluate their current subpopulation harvest regime descriptions against the agreed-to international consensus principles for the sustainable harvest of polar bears and share that evaluation with the Range States. This would inform a discussion among the Range States at the Meeting of the Parties. Given the principles are based primarily on a western science approach to harvest management and may not represent Indigenous-centered ways of defining or achieving sustainability, the Range States should factor in Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) into their harvest regimes as appropriate.

CAP Objective 5: Manage human-bear interactions to ensure human safety and to minimize polar bear injury or mortality

This presentation addresses CAP Objective 5, which focused on managing human–bear interactions. Progress on the objective was measured against twelve actions and 25 deliverables. Seven actions were completed, four partially completed, and one was not initiated. Achievements included standardized attack response protocols, established baselines for bear and human injuries and deaths, the creation of conflict mitigation templates, and the sharing of deterrent training protocols across Range States. Collaborative research and testing advanced the use of new deterrent tools such as drones, electric fences, and olfactory repellents, while best practices were developed to reduce tourism-related impacts.

Despite this progress, gaps remain. Some actions were not initiated, and the Objective 5 working group was inactive for 2023–2025 aside from publishing conflict data. Monitoring from 2020–2025 indicates that an average of 70 polar bears were killed annually in defense of life or property, while human injuries averaged two per year and fatalities averaged fewer than one.

The presentation concludes by noting that the Range States have made tangible advances in conflict prevention and response, equipping communities with better tools, protocols, and baselines.

CAP Objective 6: Ensure that international trade of polar bears is carried out according to conservation principles

This presentation reviews CAP Objective 6, which focused on ensuring that international trade in polar bears is consistent with conservation principles. Canada remains the principal source of polar bear products in global trade, particularly hides. All Canadian exports are strictly regulated to comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)—implemented by the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act and Wild Animal and Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations.

A central achievement under Objective 6 was the completion of the 2012–2021 polar bear trade review, which provided a comprehensive assessment of the topic.

The presentation reviews how polar bear trade has evolved since 2021. The international trade in hides is now at a 20-year low, making it effectively marginal compared to previous decades. Exports to China dropped sharply after 2013 but have since stabilized at around 36 hides per year, while exports to other Range States have effectively ceased since 2021.

The presentation concludes by noting that the market for polar bear hides can change dramatically in relatively short periods. This underscores both the volatility of market demand and the importance of sustained monitoring to detect sudden changes in trade dynamics.

Objective 7 Presentation Summary

Speaker: Lindsey Mangipane, Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

This presentation provides a summary of the work completed under Objective 7: carry out coordinated circumpolar population research and monitoring to monitor progress toward achieving the vision of the CAP. Two actions were initiated and completed under this objective during the 2020–2023 implementation period with the intent to 1) investigate the feasibility of developing and implementing a long-term plan to monitor the Arctic Basin Subpopulation (RMV-A1), and 2) Identify studies already conducted/published which investigate how climate change effects vary among polar bear subpopulations on both temporal and spatial scales  and to conduct a cumulative effects analysis of climate change and human activities on polar bear and their habitats (RMV-A2).

The RMV-A1 report provided important information to inform the decisions on pursuing efforts to monitor the Arctic Basin subpopulation. The extreme effort and expense necessary to monitor the Arctic Basin subpopulation is reflected in the lack of data and recommendation that these funds and efforts be expended on other data-deficient subpopulations with fewer logistical challenges to monitoring. RMV-A2 was fulfilled through the U.S. Species Status Assessment and provides detailed information on current and future conditions of polar bear subpopulations across their circumpolar range.

8. CIRCUMPOLAR ACTION PLAN

SUMMARY

8.8 ITEK: Inclusion of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) in the Polar Bear Range States as part of the ITEK working group

Ruth Milkereit

This presentation reviews the progress made by the PBRS to support the “Inclusion of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) in the Polar Bear Range States as part of the ITEK working group.”

The ITEK WG advanced three actions during the CAP2023-2025 implementation period: ITEK-1 “maintain a compendium and schedule of ITEK studies”, ITEK-2 “Complete a review and analysis to identify potential approaches to enhance implementation of PBRS commitments to inclusion of ITEK and participation of Indigenous peoples and provide recommendations to the HoDs” and ITEK-3 “Prepare an ITEK knowledge synthesis on recent ITEK research.”

The presentation highlights that the completion of all three ITEK initiatives (1, 2 and 3) has advanced the PBRS goal of recognizing “the importance and value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in informing management decisions and the need for the range states to develop a common understanding of what constitutes Traditional Ecological Knowledge and how it should be used in polar bear management decisions.”  It outlines the WG’s findings that WG’s concrete recommendations and approaches to enhance implementation of PBRS commitments to inclusion of ITEK and participation of Indigenous Peoples under the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears should be considered by the PBRS while examining any approach to extending Range States collaborative efforts beyond the 2015-2025 Circumpolar Action Plan (e.g. future Range States work).